Archive for October, 2012

WATERCOOLER CHAT: MANNING SHINES IN MNF, RAVENS LOSE LEWIS AND WEBB, GIANTS GET REVENGE IN GAME 2

FOOTBALL

In Monday Night Football, it was Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos taking on Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers:  A quarterback’s duel.  Except, the first half was all San Diego.  It was like the Broncos weren’t even there.  Rivers tossed two touchdowns in the first half, and an interception pick six would put the Chargers up 24-0 at halftime.  This game was a blowout.  But the Chargers failed to remember one important thing — you can never count out Peyton Manning.  Manning came out in the second half like a bolt of electricity (no Chargers pun intended).  He threw 3 touchdown passes, and got loads of help from his defense, who forced Rivers to throw, count ’em, 4 interceptions.  Suddenly, the game turned into a route of the home team, and the Broncos left San Diego with a win.  That win puts the Broncos in first place in the AFC West.  Denver 35, San Diego 24.
Elsewhere in the NFL, after a narrow victory over the Dallas Cowboys, the Baltimore Ravens were really starting to feel good about their season.  Their offense was finally starting to click, and their defense was jelling yet again.  That’s why it was a such a tragic blow when the Ravens found out yesterday that they had lost both Ray Lewis and LaDarius Webb to injuries for the season.  Make no mistake, this is a huge loss for the Ravens, and could put their season in jeopardy.  The Ravens organization depends on their defense to keep the score low, and now that their offense is firing on all cylinders with Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, and new star receiver Torrey Smith, they sorely needed that defense to restrict scoring on the other side of the ball.  On top of that, with Lewis’ age, this may very well send him into retirement.  We’ll see what decisions he makes, but things are not looking good for the Ravens.

BASEBALL

It looks like we’ll be in for a pretty good battle in the National League Championship between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants.  The Cards took Game 1, but the Giants would seek revenge in Game 2.  They couldn’t go back to St. Louis trailing in this series. They got clutch RBIs from Marco Scutaro, Brandon Crawford, and Ryan Theriot to gain a big, healthy lead over the Cards.  Of course, as we learned from Washington’s 6-0 collapse, that no lead is safe when playing the Cardinals, but the Giants had the relief pitching to hold on and tie the series up at a game a piece.  This one looks like it has the possibility to go 7 games.  San Francisco 7, St. Louis 1.

 

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: YANKS TANK, RODGERS 6 TDS, RGIII 76 YD RUN, GIANTS SACK SMITH, CONTROVERSIAL NOTRE DAME GAME

BASEBALL

It’s not looking so good for the Yankees this series. In the ALCS Game 2,  the Yankees look defeated. This is when teams should sufficiently be warmed up and playing their best, but the unfortunately for Yankee fans (who can be heard booing their team in the stands), they can’t seem to get an offense going. Of course, it doesn’t help that their Team captain, Derek Jeter is out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury (likely needing surgery).  Tigers 3, Yankees 0, Tigers lead series 2-0.

In other baseball news, in the NLCS Game one, the Cardinals lead the series 1-0. Cardinals 6 Giants 4, Cardinals.

FOOTBALL

Aaron Rodgers had a big night in the Sunday night game. He silenced all of his critics by throwing 6 touchdowns, yes 6 touchdowns against the previously unbeaten Houston Texans. The Packers (now 3-3) really needed this game to remain in the playoff hunt.

In more awesome quarterback news, Robert Griffin III (RGIII), coming off a concussion, showed tremendous speed running for a 76 yard  touchdown. It’s truly a beautiful site to see this play. Redskins 38, Vikings 26.

The Giants defense came out big with 6 sacks against the 49ers Alex Smith and showed the world they need to be taken seriously. The defense certainly made Smith look like an amateur forcing 3 interceptions for the afternoon. Consider the fact that Smith threw only 5 interceptions all of last year. Giants 26, 49ers 3.

In college football, the big story of the weekend was the controversial Notre Dame vs Stanford game. In overtime, the fighting Irish scored first then Stanford fought back and on 4th down with just a few yards to go, the Cardinals’ Stephen Taylor jumped over the defense and was stopped (or was he?). After the replay, the call was not overturned and Notre Dame won the game.  This call has been replayed over and over and depending on your angle (and your bias), it did look like a touchdown. It’s unfortunate that with instant replay, the officials still can’t seem to get the right angles to make this kind of important decision. Notre Dame 20, Stanford 13.

 

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: ORIOLES AND NATIONALS NOT DEAD YET, A’S SEASON COMES TO END

BASEBALL

It was do or die for the Orioles.  Either they force a game 5 by beating the Yankees in New York, or they go home and kiss a miraculous season goodbye.  This game was easily a pitcher’s duel between the Orioles Joe Saunders (experienced in pressure situations as he won the one game bout against the Rangers) and the Yankees Phil Hughes.  Thing is, the bats for both sides were practically dead.  It was a 1-1 tie for most of the second half, and would require 13 innings to decide a winner.  Then, in the top of the 13th, the Orioles Manny Machado hit a beautiful double, then J.J. Hardy knocked in the RBI to give the O’s the lead.  The Yankees couldn’t do anything in their half of the inning, and the Orioles held on for an exciting Game 5.  Baltimore 2, NY Yankees 1.
Elsewhere in baseball, the Washington Nationals were in the same position against the St. Louis Cardinals.  Do or die.  Thing is, the Nationals had the advantage of a home game.  This one was a pitcher’s duel as well.  Each side only gave up 3 hits, but then, in the bottom of the ninth, the Nationals got a home run from Jayson Werth to give the Nationals a win and tie up the series.  Even though the Nats will have a Game 5 at home, it’s no guarantee, as the Cards have been red hot lately, and, after all, they are the defending champions. So that gives us two Game 5’s to look forward to today.  The Maryland/Washington D.C. area sure has a lot to root for.  Washington 2, St. Louis 1.

And in Oakland, the Athletics actually had their chance to make a comeback against the Tigers (just as the Giants came back from a 2 game deficit to beat the Cincy Reds yesterday).  The A’s had an amazing performance on Wednesday night to force the game 5, but when that actual game 5 came, they were non-existent.  It’s as if they didn’t even show up.  Then again, they had to face, arguably, the best pitcher in the league in Jason Verlander.  He kept the A’s whisper quiet.  Then, in the 7th inning, the Tigers went on a tear, turning their 2-run lead into a 6-run lead.  That was too much of a deficit for the Athletics to overcome, and their awesome season comes to an end.  Detroit 6, Oakland 0

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: BASEBALL HIGHLIGHTS, SANDUSKY SENTENCED, CYCLING NEWS

Tune into “Be My Guest” for my weekly Betsy’s Bits!!!!

BASEBALL

In the National League Division Series, the St. Louis Cardinals embarrass the Washington Nationals 8-0 and take a 2-1 lead.

In the other National League Division Series, The San Francisco Giants fell behind the Cincinnati Reds by two games, but then came out strong in game 4 with a decisive 8-3 win. Game 5 takes place on Thursday afternoon. This is a winner take all game!!!!

In Game 3 of the Yankees/Baltimore Orioles game (American League Division Series), Raul Ibanez was the star and A-rod was the headline. Ibanez took A-rod’s place in the ninth inning and homered to tie the score 2-2. Then in the 12th inning, Raul homered again to win the game for the Yanks. A-rod hugged him, high fived him, but it had to be pretty humiliating for him to have someone come in and pinch hit because he was having such a bad game. A-rod has the reputation of choking in the playoffs and his performance Wednesday night did not help out. With a week off, it will be interesting to see which A-rod shows up in the next game. Maybe this will light a fire in him and he’ll prove all of his critics wrong? Or maybe he’ll have too much time to think and let his head get the better of him…again.  Yankees 3, Orioles 2.

Elsewhere in the American League Division Series, the Oakland Athletics play a winner take all game against the Detroit Tigers Thursday after the A’s miracle season (from a bunch of young, not well know players) get a win in game 4.

FOOTBALL

Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State Assistant and accused pedophile, was sentenced to 30-60 years behind bars this week. Thankfully, this horrible human being (if you can actually call him human) will spend the rest of his life behind bars thinking about how he ruined numerous boys’ lives and maligned the University he dedicated his life and career to.

CYCLING

Lance Armstrong, arguably the most famous cyclist of our time, has been accused again of doping, but this time, it appears the charges will stick.  A number of Armstrong’s former teammates stated that Armstrong ran “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”

 

 

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: CASSEL GOES DOWN AMIDST CHEERS, GABBERT NOT BENCHED, ALTIDORE DROPPED

 

FOOTBALL

 

In the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs suffered another loss Sunday at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.  The most notable thing about the game, however, was when the Ravens injured Chiefs’ quarterback Matt Cassel.  Cassel went down, and suddenly… the entire Chiefs fan base started cheering.  They were ‘cheering’ that their starting quarterback was injured. This ignited anger from Chiefs’ offensive lineman Eric Winston who publicly lit into Chiefs’ fans saying that cheering when someone gets injured is absolutely sickening and disgusting.  Winston said that fans can say anything they want, bad or good, but cheering when a person is seriously hurt is ‘not ok’.  After all, Cassel works his hard for the fans, and goes out there and plays the best he can.  Cheering for his physical demise is disgusting.  We’ll see what happens next in Kansas City.
Elsewhere in the NFL, despite a putrid performance against the Chicago Bears, which included throwing two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, the Jacksonville Jaguars have said they have no plans to bench their second-year QB, Blaine Gabbert.  Jacksonville is a young team, with a young offensive line, and up-and-coming receivers like Justin Blackmon.  They’re hoping that even in a bad performance, the players are starting to jell more.  Then again, Maurice Jones-Drew (the team captain) has struggled with that offense, and couldn’t get much going against the Bears on the ground.  The Jaguars clearly have some major holes in their game, but consistency at quarterback is definitely something they feel passionate about.  They believe in Gabbert, and truly think he will improve.

SOCCER

The United States are in their qualifiers for the World Cup in 2014.  In 2010, one of their best players was Jozy Altidore, a young soccer phenom that put on a terrific performance for the U.S.  Just yesterday, U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann dropped Altidore from their next qualifying game.  Even though Altidore is playing well professionally in the Netherlands, Klinsmann said that he has not been happy about his performance the past few games with the U.S. as well as having some off-the-field issues with Altidore during their practice sessions.  Nevertheless, the decision to drop a quality player like Altidore is controversial, especially because he did select former hero Landon Donovan, despite Donovan struggling with an injured knee.  In the end, the U.S. needs to make the World Cup, and they need to show the world that they’ve made serious progress since 2010.

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: BRADY/MANNING RIVALRY, LUCK PROVES HE’S ON HIS WAY, YANKS STEEL GAME ONE

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, one of the long standing rivalries was always the New England Patriots vs. the Indianapolis Colts:  The Tom Brady v. Peyton Manning showdown.  Peyton Manning is clearly not a Colt any more, he’s a Bronco, so many were wondering how the Broncos and Patriots would clash, and if the rivalry would still mean anything.  It certainly did, but it was definitely lopsided in favor of the Patriots.  They had a perfectly balanced passing and rushing attack led by Brady and Stevan Ridley.  The Pats simply carved up the Broncos defense.  Peyton did what he could, throwing for an impressive 345 yards and 3 touchdowns, but it just wasn’t enough as the Pats continued to roll and slowly improve their season.  New England 31, Denver 21.
Elsewhere in the NFL, it was a true test for the #1 pick Andrew Luck, as he would have to match skills with arguably the best quarterback in the game right now, the Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers got out to a hot start, jumping out to a 21-3 lead.  There’s no way the rookie could come back from that, right?  Wrong!  Luck had a remarkable day, passing for 362 yards and 2 touchdowns.  And one of those touchdowns came in the closing minute of the game, as Luck hit Reggie Wayne (who had a huge day with 212 yards) for the game winning touchdown.  Or would it be?  Rodgers marched the Packers back down the field, giving their kicker Mason Crosby a chance for a game-tying field goal, and… he MISSED IT.  And with that, Luck prevailed, and proved that he is going to be a very tough quarterback to take down.  Indianapolis 30, Green Bay 27.

BASEBALL

Finally, in baseball, the playoffs were underway.  That started with the Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals surviving their respective one-game playoff games.  Many baseball purists loathe this new one-game wildcard game, because baseball is a game that requires a larger sample set to see who is better.  One game in baseball allows for strange flukes and off-nights that may not indicate who the actual and rightful team to advance is.  At least in a series, you give teams a chance to prove how good they are on an average.  The Orioles won, and advanced to play the New York Yankees. These two haven’t met in the post-season since 1996.  And suddenly, we were in the middle of yet another rivalry.  They were squared at 2-2 all the way until the 9th inning, but unfortunately for the Orioles, they gave up 5 runs to the Yankees in the Top of the ninth and lost all the wind in their sails.  The Yankees stole a game on the road, with Game 2 Monday night.  NY Yankees 7, Baltimore 2.

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: BOBBY VALENTINE GONE, SHAQ KEEPS GOING AFTER HOWARD, WHITE’S FEAR OF FLYING

BASEBALL

After one of the worst Red Sox seasons in the past 20 years, the Red Sox organization has decided to part ways with Bobby Valentine after just one year.  They originally hired Valentine to sooth the problems the Red Sox experienced during their 2011 pennant race.  It was a mess chemistry wise.  This season, the Red Sox did a mid-season dump that sent a lot of their staples to other teams.  Essentially, they’re trying to rebuild, and that rebuilding won’t take place with Bobby Valentine.  So now, there’s a very desirable coaching position open in baseball.  There are some interesting candidates out there — including Mike Lowell, former Red Sox hero and current Major League Baseball Analyst.  He might be a fan favorite.

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, there has been an ongoing feud between Shaquille O’ Neal and Dwight Howard.  O’Neal is often heard criticizing Howard for one reason or another.  Most think this is because Howard stole his nickname:  Superman.  That clearly irked Shaq, but now that Dwight Howard is on the Lakers, it almost feels like there’s a carbon copy out there in Los Angeles.  Two Supermans.  Well, Shaq continues to publicly be passive aggressive towards Howard.  Recently, he said that Howard was the third best center in the league, behind Andrew Bynum and Robin Lopez.  Shaq said they are more traditional centers, because they play with their back to the basket.  Howard has taken offense to this and has called out Shaq saying, “It’s time to move on”.  Howard said that Shaq played the game, he’s done, and now it’s time to move on.  Clearly, he had had enough. But given that Shaq is now a TV analyst — get ready for a lot more on-air criticism.

Finally, in the NBA, the Houston Rockets recently drafted big man Royce White from Iowa State with the 16th pick.  White is one of those freakish talents that needs some coaching to hone his game.  However, White hasn’t reported to training camp.  It’s not because White is holding out for a contract or anything of that nature, but rather he has an interesting dilemma: White suffers from a severe anxiety disorder that makes him afraid to fly.  He says he’s scared going to the airport, scared in the air, and feels like a million bucks when they touch ground.  Now it looks like the Rockets are setting up an alternative travel for him:  The bus.  White even says that he would pay for the bus, but added that he won’t be taking a bus to all the games, just the ones nearby (e.g. Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, etc…).  White is working on his flying disorder, and will likely have to get on a plane when they go to play teams on the west and east coast.

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: A’S CLAIM AL WEST, YANKEES GRAB AL EAST, NO MORE FLOPPIN

BASEBALL

It all came down to the final day to determine the playoff spots…..

First, the Oakland Athletics found themselves in a position to actually win the AL West.  Prior to the season, everyone thought that either the Rangers or Angels had this wrapped up.  After all, they have the highest payrolls and it looked like these two teams would be battling for the top spot for at least the next 5 years.  So the fact that the A’s had a shot to take this thing was truly amazing.  All they had to do was beat the Rangers one more time.  The Rangers got out to a commanding lead in the first 3 innings, jumping out to a 5-1 start.  But then, back came the A’s.  Their hitting kicked in in the 4th inning, and they rattled off 12 unanswered runs to win the game.  That gave them the AL West the crown and a good momentum push going into the post season.  Oakland 12, Texas 5.

And in the AL East, it came down to one game for the Orioles and Yankees to see which team would take the AL East Crown.  The Yankees hosted the Red Sox and Baltimore was on the road in Tampa Bay.  Baltimore needed the win, but just couldn’t get their bats going against the Rays.  The Rays kept smashing homers, increasing the lead and making themselves hard to catch.  So Baltimore lost pretty badly.  And, to seal the deal, The Yanks wasted no time jumping out to a 5-1 lead against the Red Sox, and never really looked back.  With that, the Yanks won the AL East and earned an instant trip to the second round of the playoffs.  The Orioles will have to make it to the second round as a wild card.  Tampa Bay 4, Baltimore 1.  NY Yankees 14, Boston 2.

BASKETBALL

The NBA has implemented a new system that will penalize flopping.  For reference, “flopping” is when an NBA defender intentionally throws himself on the ground in order to fool the ref into thinking he was fouled.  Unfortunately, some players are so good at this circus job, that they convince the ref that they were fouled in a very pivotal part of the game.  The ref calls the foul and changes the course of the game.  This is why you see so many players complaining to the ref because they are actually innocent of the foul — the guy flopped. The NBA, of course,  didn’t like that, so they have put in a rule that would fine players for taking a dive.  If they are caught guilty of flopping after the game (by review on video) they can face serious financial charges by the league.

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: JETS IN DISARRAY, AL EAST CROWN RACE, DWIGHT HOWARD MAKES DEBUT IN LA

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, after getting destroyed on Sunday by the San Francisco 49ers, the New York Jets appear to be in disarray.  They have a problem at starting quarterback, as Mark Sanchez is playing quite poorly, and he’s got Tim Tebow nipping on his heels.  (The media would love some Tebow magic, and the Jets sorely need it).  On top of that, they lost their star cornerback, Darrelle Revis, for the year. And now, there’s a strong chance they will be without their #1 receiver Santonio Holmes for the year.  Without Holmes, the Jets are relying upon Jeremy Kerley, Chaz Schillens, and rookie Stephen Hill to get them through the remainder of the season.  After winning in Week 1, it could be a long way down for the Jets going forward.  They might get that high draft pick they wanted.

BASEBALL

The race is on for the AL East Crown with just one game remaining.  The Orioles are one game back, but they got their win against the Rays Tuesday night.  They needed the Yankees to lose if they would pull off the impossible and have a shot to win the East.  The Yankees, however, are blessed with a home stand against a horrible Boston Red Sox team who, get this, is using these last few games as practice.  Yep, they’re starting a lot of minor league guys to get them exposure.  The Orioles are infuriated because they need the Red Sox to beat the Yankees. Last night, it looked like the Red Sox had a shot, as they led 3-1 going into the bottom of the ninth.  But the Yankees turned into the Yankees and tied up the game behind a Raul Ibanez 2-run homer.  Then, Ibanez knocked in another run in the 12th to give the Yanks the comeback win.  It all comes down to tomorrow’s game.  If the Yanks win, they secure the east crown.  If the Orioles win and the Yanks lose, the Orioles hold the tiebreaker for first place.  It should be interesting.  Baltimore 1, Tampa Bay 0.  NY Yankees 4, Boston 3.

BASKETBALL

Finally, in the NBA, the drama is already heating up in Los Angeles.  Dwight Howard made his Lakers debut in a practice yesterday.  But when questioned by the media as to “Who’s team is this?”, Howard said “It’s the Lakers”.  The media pushed more saying that, it’s 4th quarter in the playoffs, then whose team is this?  And Howard said, “It’s our team”.  Everybody knows that the Lakers are Kobe’s team, but the hard truth is Dwight was brought in not only to win a title, but to also take over as the alpha dog when Kobe retires.  Then again, we’ll see what happens come crunch time.  Funny enough, this type of story is getting more headlines and talk radio support in Los Angeles, than when the Los Angeles Kings made their miraculous Stanley Cup championship run.

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: FIRST FULL WEEKEND WITH REAL REFS

In the NFL, it was the first full weekend with the real referees back in action.  And since the response to the replacement refs were so horrible, the real referees are coming in with practical immunity — almost as if they they can’t be criticized because the fans now kno what their option is.

First up, it was the New York Jets hosting the San Francisco 49ers.  This was a much anticipated battle. The Jets looked terrible to be honest.  They couldn’t get any offense going, and the Niners defense was practically a brick wall.  Mark Sanchez threw for a grand total of a 103 yards, and that included an interception.  The Niners, meanwhile, were clicking on all cylinders, even their back-up quarterback Colin Kaepernick came in for a rushing touchdown. It was a blowout.   Jets head coach Rex Ryan said he’s giving his team 2 days off to think about who they want to be this season, because they’re going nowhere fast.  San Francisco 34, NY Jets 0.

In Buffalo, the Bills were hoping to beat the Pats on their home field again.  This is kind of becoming a David vs. Goliath rivalry.  The Pats have punished the Bills so much the past 10 years, and now that the Bills actually have a competitive team of sorts, they always feel they can take on Tom Brady and the pats.  That was the case in the first half, as the Bills pulled out to a 21-7 lead.  Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 350 yards and 4 touchdowns on the day.  Except he also had 4 interceptions.  And you just can’t give the ball over to the high-powered Patriots offense.  They scored on just about every possession. Tom Brady had 340 yards and 3 touchdowns, but the Patriots run offense got into it as well behind Stevan Ridley and Brandon Bolden.  Suddenly, what looked like a blowout turned into a blowout for the other team.  New England 52, Buffalo 28.

In Tampa Bay, we would be witness to Robert Griffin III finally becoming that game-winning quarterback the Redskins hoped he would be.  The Redskins got out to a sizable lead behind a rushing touchdown from Robert Griffin III and their running back Alfred Morris.  But then, the Bucs would battle touchdowns from their key players:  Vincent Jackson and LeGarrett Blount.  Soon, a field goal had the Bucs in the lead 22-21.  Then, it was the RG3 show.  He made the plays to march them down the field and put them in scoring position.  All this WHILE the speaker in his helmet failed (note:  all quarterbacks have a speaker in their headset for the coach to call plays too.  It helps when there’s a lot of noise.)  So he was out there on his own.  He put them in range, and then Billy Cundiff booted a 41 yard field goal to win the game for the Skins.  The Skins are now 2-2, and those losses come on 2 very winnable games.  This is a quiet team that could sneak up on people at the end of the season.  Washington 24, Tampa Bay 22.

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